So far I've accumulated $8.75 in my Valued Opinions account. I just got done receiving payment from ABC Gift Cards for a Macy's gift card I redeemed with my Valued Opinions acct balance. Was a slow and painful experience. Yet until I realized how ridiculous this whole thing is, I was feeling optimistic about the future...I guess the more I have now, provided I don't squander it in a flurry of haste like I often do, the more well off I'll be when the gov't shuts the lights on me. I really need to consider my purchases more carefully. Dang it. I just realized something else. Avril Lavigne's upcoming self titled CD is not worth buying! "Rock n' Roll" is the only song of hers I've heard so far from that CD that's beyond mediocre good. I'll need to sample it b4 I buy it, if I do. Phew, that's one down and I Just need to buy Xmas gifts. I'm not getting anyone very much, but it still cuts a lot from my budget. It doesn't really matter though; if it wren't for Xmas shopping, there'd be none at all. I'd just give it all to my sister or waste it...
I might buy the STAR WAS trilogy on VHS, the un-"special" edition...other than that, my CD and DVD collection is complete...I have all my life-changing favs; BRINGING OUT THE DEAD, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, GHOSTBUSTERS, THE LAST UNICORN and Gregg Araki's nOWHERE. There's other really really good movies, but those are the ones I watch repeatedly, that is not to say "all the time", since I still do get tired of all of those movies if I see them more than once or twice a year. I have E.T. and THE EXORCIST on VHS, and a few other movies on VHS and DVD, and I have probably more CDs than I need, and some books, and, for now, a gigantic selection of books to choose from @ the library, including DISGRACE by Coetze, which I'm re-starting b/c I had read 30 or so pages of it several months ago and forgot where I left off, and to some extent what I've read within those pages. I'll probably keep reading Perlman's SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY sporadically, until when/if the library burns down and the townsfolk nor gov't have the money to re-build it and replenish the shelves.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
SON OF MAGUS
Un debauche de profession est rarement un homme pitoyable
That should have been a dead giveaway that the author is full of schit.
But then I read part of the introduction to the revised edition before I looked online and found the revised edition is Evil. I stopped before finishing page two, b/c it was keeping me from walking successfully (success = not getting ran over by a car).
Then I posted a Q on Y! to find out where the NON revised edition could be bought and someone took the time to answer a very detailed answer, seemingly w/o much prior knowledge of the matter. He said most readers like both the revised edition & the original text. So I took it upon myself to look up other opinions (reviews) of THE MAGUS Revised. And someone was kind enough to give it 4/5 stars despite serious flaws. One of them is hinted at in the quote above, which is from a novel by the Marque De Sade, titled in its native language Les Infortunes de la Vertu. The English translation of whatever that says is irrelevant, the point is that people in general have never been bi, tri & quad+ lingual. I myself am probably one of the lesser educated people in my community, but I do have a fairly good mind, although it gets stuck sometimes...tedium is something I am very sensitive to and dislike very much, to the point I get sick to my stomach in the face of it. I could have advanced my math and reading skills from day 1, but my impression of school, from that day until it was too late for me to catch up, was "What the heck is this place and why am I here?!" I felt like I was being tied up and held down. Resistance was my rebellion. Do I strike you as a rebel? Hmm...Anyway, the school found something abnormal in my thinking patterns so instead of branding me as lazy and a traditional failure, they put me in a class with a bunch of other similarly misfitting children and didn't ask very much of me. So heck, no: I do not speak French. Most U.S. citizens don't learn French because The USA is the top dog and everyone who knows anything will learn English so they can speak effectively when in its presence. The USA is lucky in this regard; we certainly did not earn this ability, although we have done a lot to make it look like we did, i.e: the Civil War, The Civil Rights Bill, etc...I still think the Vietnam war was just gov't sanctioned mass murder. There was no goal in invading their land. There was no strategy. And the police here stateside often were almost as brutal. I can't believe Ronald Reagan ever became president, after reading the liner notes of George Carlin's CLASSIC GOLD.
It seems like we never really had a free country until the decade I was born into, the 1980's.
But anyway; I wouldn't expect a Frenchman to learn English. I think the French have a culture and a country just as worthy as any. If THE MAGUS were written by John Folwes primarily for the French to read, I'd probably missed out on reading the original text. Many an English speaking person missed out on Matthew Ward's translation of Albert Camus' THE STRANGER and thus had to settle with Stuart Gilbert's, inferior from what I can tell (although THE STRANGER, as beloved as it is, is a rather boring meandering pile of nothing, IMO).
I guess John Fowles expects the non-uber-educated folk to steer clear of him and not get his silk suit rife with mud. Sorry I bought your book, Mr. Fowles. I don't mean to intrude on your insular circle.
That should have been a dead giveaway that the author is full of schit.
But then I read part of the introduction to the revised edition before I looked online and found the revised edition is Evil. I stopped before finishing page two, b/c it was keeping me from walking successfully (success = not getting ran over by a car).
Then I posted a Q on Y! to find out where the NON revised edition could be bought and someone took the time to answer a very detailed answer, seemingly w/o much prior knowledge of the matter. He said most readers like both the revised edition & the original text. So I took it upon myself to look up other opinions (reviews) of THE MAGUS Revised. And someone was kind enough to give it 4/5 stars despite serious flaws. One of them is hinted at in the quote above, which is from a novel by the Marque De Sade, titled in its native language Les Infortunes de la Vertu. The English translation of whatever that says is irrelevant, the point is that people in general have never been bi, tri & quad+ lingual. I myself am probably one of the lesser educated people in my community, but I do have a fairly good mind, although it gets stuck sometimes...tedium is something I am very sensitive to and dislike very much, to the point I get sick to my stomach in the face of it. I could have advanced my math and reading skills from day 1, but my impression of school, from that day until it was too late for me to catch up, was "What the heck is this place and why am I here?!" I felt like I was being tied up and held down. Resistance was my rebellion. Do I strike you as a rebel? Hmm...Anyway, the school found something abnormal in my thinking patterns so instead of branding me as lazy and a traditional failure, they put me in a class with a bunch of other similarly misfitting children and didn't ask very much of me. So heck, no: I do not speak French. Most U.S. citizens don't learn French because The USA is the top dog and everyone who knows anything will learn English so they can speak effectively when in its presence. The USA is lucky in this regard; we certainly did not earn this ability, although we have done a lot to make it look like we did, i.e: the Civil War, The Civil Rights Bill, etc...I still think the Vietnam war was just gov't sanctioned mass murder. There was no goal in invading their land. There was no strategy. And the police here stateside often were almost as brutal. I can't believe Ronald Reagan ever became president, after reading the liner notes of George Carlin's CLASSIC GOLD.
It seems like we never really had a free country until the decade I was born into, the 1980's.
But anyway; I wouldn't expect a Frenchman to learn English. I think the French have a culture and a country just as worthy as any. If THE MAGUS were written by John Folwes primarily for the French to read, I'd probably missed out on reading the original text. Many an English speaking person missed out on Matthew Ward's translation of Albert Camus' THE STRANGER and thus had to settle with Stuart Gilbert's, inferior from what I can tell (although THE STRANGER, as beloved as it is, is a rather boring meandering pile of nothing, IMO).
I guess John Fowles expects the non-uber-educated folk to steer clear of him and not get his silk suit rife with mud. Sorry I bought your book, Mr. Fowles. I don't mean to intrude on your insular circle.
freshly stale - classic - songs (slices of 1980's nostalgia/happiness)
- The Boys Of Summer - D. Henley
- The End Of The Innocence - D. Henley
- Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough - Patty Smyth ft. Don Henley
- The Way It Is - Bruce Hornsby & The Range
- Mandolin Rain - Bruce H & The R
- The Living Years - Mike + The Mechanics
- Silent Running - Mike + The Mechanics
- We Built This City - Starship
- Sara - Starship
- The Heart Of Rock 'n' Roll - Huey Lewis & The News
- Heart And Soul - Huey Lewis & The News
- If This Is It - Huey Lewis & The News
- The Power Of Love - Huey Lewis The News
- Hold On Loosely - .38 Special
- Caught Up In You - .38 Special
Where mid-80's dance-pop and Ronald Reagan's groupies converge.
Everyone seems to agree that H. Lewis/News music is positively Happy music. "We Built This City" is celebratory life-music. "Sara" is a sad song, but it's got that soothing and twinkling 80's feel to it. That imitation harmonica brings tingles through me when I'm in just the right frame of mind. The 2 .38 Special songs go hand in hand w/ Huey Lewis et al. The first 7 songs are kinda sad songs, but they have that certain something or other that sets them apart from the competition. There may be similar songs, better even, but these are the ones that I find myself searching for after having them rolling in my head day after day. Yep, I'm brainwashed :p
Thursday, October 24, 2013
The Best Of Spirits...
A dumb idea, I know; I mean, my definition of "The best" seems to change from day to day, from hour to hour......feel free to pretend this doesn't exist...
- American Football - s/t
- Kate Bush - The Whole Story
- Chicago - Greatest Hits 1982-1989
- Phil Collins - Both Sides
- Phil Collins - No Jacket Required
- Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most
- Genesis - s/t
- Genesis - Genesis Live
- Genesis - Invisible Touch
- Genesis - Live Over Europe
- Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Vol. Two: The Longs
- Patty Griffin - 1000 Kisses
- Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
- Idlewild - The Remote Part
- Last Winter - The Heart And The Broken Compass
- Avril Lavigne - Let Go
- Oingo Boingo - Dark At The End Of The Tunnel
- Oingo Boingo - Nothing To Fear
- Oingo Boingo - Skeletons In The Closet: The Best Of
- Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends
- Toto - Toto IV
- Trespassers William - Having
- Virginwool - Open Heart Surgery
Monday, October 21, 2013
THE MAGUS
John Fowles' 1966 masterpiece THE MAGUS was revised, and not for the better according to Sean Rogan on May 12, 2002 at Amazon. I haven't verified his testimony by reading the mammoth book and comparing it to the original, but if he's not hallucinating or deliberately telling a lie, I must say I agree with his assessment.
Aside from the typical "oh no it's out of print" scavenger hunt I'm now on, what really ticks me off is everybody seems to be ignorant of this revision. From what I can gather, it's the only version in print. I have no reason to believe otherwise. Wikipedia mentions something about THE MAGUS being awarded a place on the Modern Library 100 Best Novels. Who is the Modern Library? Heck if I know. But this honor took place in 1999. That was 20+ years after Mr. Fowles decided to ruin his classic. And AbeBooks has sellers selling a 1998 printing labeled "Modern Library", which, like all other books, has an ISBN, which, if you click on that # @ AbeBooks, you get detailed book information. Unfortunately, that detail is very slim in this case. It cites critical reviews from the 1960's when the book first came out. If you think watching Brian de Palma's CARRIE is the same as watching Kimberly Pierce's recent remake, then I guess you're confused as to what the problem with that is. But it is my firm opinion that the specific details used to get the story told - setting, dialogue, the tone of the author's prose etc/cinematography etc - are a lot more important than the story itself. A story can be found out in the span of less than 5 minutes by reading a synopsis. The details are what make it a classic or a "nice try" or "utter junk" So the fact that a 1998 pressing of a book that contains text (presumably) revised, in 1976, has critical responses from 1966 associated with the ISBN b/c AbeBooks doesn't seem to think there's anything else worth saying about the book other than a brief synopsis is just downright appalling.
I'd send them an email, but they probably wouldn't read half of it. I'm going to ask the Y! community about this, see if there's been any non-revised editions in print over the past 15 years. A 20+ year old hardcover that doesn't look like junk is probably $20++. I can get a reading copy for under $7 and I'll probably do that as soon as I'm able, but if I enjoy the book, I'm going to want it in hardcover and I'll probably buy it in hardcover if it's not going to cost me my entire disposable income to acquire it. Technically, I shouldn't even be buying such frivileous(sp???!) nonsense, since my income will come to a screeching halt probably sometime in this upcoming decade and my sister's going to be taking care of me if she can, which means $0 rent, PROBABLY very few groceries, MAYBE some electricity if the economy manages to avoid a collapse centered around the government's inability to pay off its debt or get new loans, like some economists are predicting.
Aside from the typical "oh no it's out of print" scavenger hunt I'm now on, what really ticks me off is everybody seems to be ignorant of this revision. From what I can gather, it's the only version in print. I have no reason to believe otherwise. Wikipedia mentions something about THE MAGUS being awarded a place on the Modern Library 100 Best Novels. Who is the Modern Library? Heck if I know. But this honor took place in 1999. That was 20+ years after Mr. Fowles decided to ruin his classic. And AbeBooks has sellers selling a 1998 printing labeled "Modern Library", which, like all other books, has an ISBN, which, if you click on that # @ AbeBooks, you get detailed book information. Unfortunately, that detail is very slim in this case. It cites critical reviews from the 1960's when the book first came out. If you think watching Brian de Palma's CARRIE is the same as watching Kimberly Pierce's recent remake, then I guess you're confused as to what the problem with that is. But it is my firm opinion that the specific details used to get the story told - setting, dialogue, the tone of the author's prose etc/cinematography etc - are a lot more important than the story itself. A story can be found out in the span of less than 5 minutes by reading a synopsis. The details are what make it a classic or a "nice try" or "utter junk" So the fact that a 1998 pressing of a book that contains text (presumably) revised, in 1976, has critical responses from 1966 associated with the ISBN b/c AbeBooks doesn't seem to think there's anything else worth saying about the book other than a brief synopsis is just downright appalling.
I'd send them an email, but they probably wouldn't read half of it. I'm going to ask the Y! community about this, see if there's been any non-revised editions in print over the past 15 years. A 20+ year old hardcover that doesn't look like junk is probably $20++. I can get a reading copy for under $7 and I'll probably do that as soon as I'm able, but if I enjoy the book, I'm going to want it in hardcover and I'll probably buy it in hardcover if it's not going to cost me my entire disposable income to acquire it. Technically, I shouldn't even be buying such frivileous(sp???!) nonsense, since my income will come to a screeching halt probably sometime in this upcoming decade and my sister's going to be taking care of me if she can, which means $0 rent, PROBABLY very few groceries, MAYBE some electricity if the economy manages to avoid a collapse centered around the government's inability to pay off its debt or get new loans, like some economists are predicting.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
spirits of the material world [or, ways to justify obsessive materialism...]
this is old news; feel free to look away. Just me being my same old obsessive imaginary self
these aren't albums I LOVE, just ones I have been known to listen to actively and have highly enjoyed on numerous occasions....I probably won't ever buy these, at least not in the future, I mean...I've owned most of these at one point or another in the past, but not all at once. If I had money falling into my pockets like some [a lot of] people do, I could snatch these up in one swoop...
also, I'm almost certain there's stuff missing from this list; it's hard to recollect every high point in a almost 20 year span of music listening. [technically I've listened to music all my life, since I got out of the hospital after birth, maybe even before then b/c I had a skin infection and had to stay a few days after my birth but there may have been some right-sided brain stimulation as a result of whatever elevator music was playing in the hallways of the hospital that treated my skin infection]
Plus, there's the usual discrimination factor; do I put some album I listened to a lot when I was 14 and found myself enjoying at some point in my early-mid 20's on here? These are not albums I used to enjoy, these are albums I still have room in my heart and mind for and thus wish I could buy. I actually probably could buy these later, piece by piece as the months by months go on and on, and turn into years, and then I could keep 'em on display in my house that no one visits, but due to financial constraints, I'd probably be better off not buying [again]. Also, I probably WILL NOT buy Manson's ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR, because the guy's already gotten rich by denouncing God, I do not feel comfortable letting that kind of stuff into my heart and mind. I'm not for censorship, but that doesn't mean I need to approve of blasphemy on steroids. Nevertheless, there's times I feel tempted to abandon all notions of spirituality and religion/theology and just embrace the dark side. For a super-dark album that's more melancholy than depressing, pull up ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR. Or if you like being scared by horror movies and aren't too detached from your own spirituality yet aren't too serious about it, you may find time on Halloween night to listen to it.
On to the list:
these aren't albums I LOVE, just ones I have been known to listen to actively and have highly enjoyed on numerous occasions....I probably won't ever buy these, at least not in the future, I mean...I've owned most of these at one point or another in the past, but not all at once. If I had money falling into my pockets like some [a lot of] people do, I could snatch these up in one swoop...
also, I'm almost certain there's stuff missing from this list; it's hard to recollect every high point in a almost 20 year span of music listening. [technically I've listened to music all my life, since I got out of the hospital after birth, maybe even before then b/c I had a skin infection and had to stay a few days after my birth but there may have been some right-sided brain stimulation as a result of whatever elevator music was playing in the hallways of the hospital that treated my skin infection]
Plus, there's the usual discrimination factor; do I put some album I listened to a lot when I was 14 and found myself enjoying at some point in my early-mid 20's on here? These are not albums I used to enjoy, these are albums I still have room in my heart and mind for and thus wish I could buy. I actually probably could buy these later, piece by piece as the months by months go on and on, and turn into years, and then I could keep 'em on display in my house that no one visits, but due to financial constraints, I'd probably be better off not buying [again]. Also, I probably WILL NOT buy Manson's ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR, because the guy's already gotten rich by denouncing God, I do not feel comfortable letting that kind of stuff into my heart and mind. I'm not for censorship, but that doesn't mean I need to approve of blasphemy on steroids. Nevertheless, there's times I feel tempted to abandon all notions of spirituality and religion/theology and just embrace the dark side. For a super-dark album that's more melancholy than depressing, pull up ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR. Or if you like being scared by horror movies and aren't too detached from your own spirituality yet aren't too serious about it, you may find time on Halloween night to listen to it.
On to the list:
- American Football - s/t
- Anberlin - Cities
- Armor For Sleep - Dream To Make Believe
- Blink 182 - s/t
- Brand New - Deja Entendu
- Kate Bush - The Whole Story
- The Cars - Candy-O
- Cartel - Chroma
- The Chameleons - Script Of The Bridge
- Chicago - Greatest Hits 1982-1989
- Phil Collins - Both Sides
- Phil Collins - No Jacket Required
- The Cranberries - Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
- Crash Test Dummies - God Shuffled His Feet
- The Cure - Staring At The Sea: The Singles
- Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most
- Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism
- Depeche Mode - A Broken Frame
- The Fray - How To Save A Life
- Frou Frou - Details
- Peter Gabriel - s/t #3
- Peter Gabriel - Up
- Genesis - s/t
- Genesis - Invisible Touch
- Genesis - Live Over Europe
- Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Vol. 1: The Shorts
- Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Vol. 2: The Longs
- The Get Up Kids - Something To Write Home About
- The Goo Goo Dolls - A Boy Named Goo
- David Gray - White Ladder
- Patty Griffin - 1000 Kisses
- George Harrison - Cloud 9
- Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
- Hootie & The Blowfish - Cracked Rear View
- Idlewild - The Remote Part
- Michael Jackson - Bad
- Michael Jackson - Dangerous
- Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American
- Jimmy Eat World - Futures
- Last Winter - The Heart And The Broken Compass
- Last Winter - Under The Silver Of Machines
- Avril Lavigne - Let Go
- Live - Throwing Copper
- Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm
- Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar
- Matchbox 20 - Yourself Or Someone Like You
- Metallica - Master Of Puppets
- Mineral - The Power Of Failing
- A Moment's Worth - Start Where You Are
- New Radicals - Maybe You've Been Brainwashed, Too
- Nickelback - The Best Of, Volume 1
- Number One Fan - Compromises
- Oingo Boingo - Dark At The End Of The Tunnel
- Oingo Boingo - Nothing To Fear
- Oingo Boingo - Skeletons In The Closet: The Best Of
- Owl City - Ocean Eyes
- Paramore - Riot
- The Psychedelic Furs - World Outside
- R.E.M. - Fables Of The Reconstruction
- R.E.M. - Murmur
- Rush - Power Windows
- Saves The Day - Stay What You Are
- Senses Fail - Life Is Not A Waiting Room
- Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends
- Rick Springfield - Working Class Dog
- Starship - Knee Deep In The Hoopla
- The Starting Line - Say It Like You Mean It
- Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends
- Tears For Fears - Shout: The Very Best Of
- Third Eye Blind - s/t
- Toad The Wet Sprocket - Pale
- Toto - Toto IV
- Trespassers William - Having
- Various - Teaching Mrs. Tingle soundtrack
- Virginwool - Open Heart Surgery
- Waking Ashland - Composure
- The Wallflowers - Bringing Down The Horse
- "Weird Al" Yankovic - Even Worse
- The Who - Who's Next
- Steve Winwood - Back In The High Life
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
I can hear it...in the air...
There's something exciting about knowing that good/great music is being instilled on the general public. I heard someone caddy corner of my house listening to "Fireflies" by Owl City while waiting for their car to warm up a couple winters ago. I caught a whiff of someone listening to one of the 10 gems from WHAT SEPARATES ME FROM YOU by A Day To Remember (don't remember which one) while walking by their house, don't remember where...and you know a song is making an impression on folks when you keep hearing it on TV ads - "How To Save A Life" by The Fray. "Everything You Want" by Vertical Horizon is still one of the greatest songs ever and it was all over radio and TV etc. for at least a year. Of course, The Fray and Vertical Horizon are both history. And A Day To Remember and Owl City are recent, but not new. As for 2013, nothing is coming to mind. I'm sure there's good music that's making waves, but I'm totally clueless as I am now freed from annoying 5 minute car advertisements inserted between 15 minutes of music (much of which is varying degrees of pretty good but is rendered useless after 20 plays daily times however many days the song(s) have been recent enough to be considered "new"). [This radio slam courtesy of the good vibes coming from my computer courtesy of Pandora Internet Radio]
So...uh...hmm...I think I'm finished here...not sure what I'm talking about...idk...
Albums That Are Freakin' Awesome+++ and some that I don't disagree with their status as uber-definitive
So...uh...hmm...I think I'm finished here...not sure what I'm talking about...idk...
Albums That Are Freakin' Awesome+++ and some that I don't disagree with their status as uber-definitive
- American Football - s/t
- Boston - s/t
- Chicago - Greatest Hits 1982-1989
- Collins, Phil - Both Sides
- Genesis - Invisible Touch
- Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
- Last Winter - The Heart And The Broken Compass
- Lavigne, Avril - Let Go
- Oingo Boingo - Skeletons In The Closet: The Best Of
- Duncan Sheik - s/t
- Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends
- Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends
- Toto - Toto IV
- The Who - Who's Next
Songs You Might Have Almost Forgotten but probably would be better off not cutting yourself off entirely...
- Everything You Want - Vertical Horizon
- If You Could Only See - Tonic
- The Freshmen - The Verve Pipe
- Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots
- Crazy - Aerosmith
- Everlong - Foo Fighters
- The Sound Of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
- Hold On Loosely - .38 Special
- Caught Up In You - .38 Special
- Rikki Don't Lose My Number - Steely Dan
- These Eyes - The Guess Who
- Don't Stop Believing - Journey
I Think I'll Disappear Now...my thoughts on RIVER'S EDGE (1986)
I saw the first 17 minutes or so.
It was touted as a highly disturbing film. It wasn't. The premise was bone chilling and full of promise. As it turned out, the setting was drab, the cinematography was equally so, the script was equal parts slow and plodding and rushed. I saw slow and plodding because it isn't concise in its presentation. The parts of the screenplay that were key to the story only lasted like 2 seconds apiece. Aside from the possibility of telling the story in a way that would look and feel compelling on a screen, there's the issue of character development; granted, this is a movie and if the characters and their relationship to each other were well established, as well as their mentality, I'd still find this film to be better suited for the page than wasting thousands upon thousands of dollars and man hours trying to film it for illiterates.
Keanu Reeves appears to have a conscience early on in the film, but you don't see why he hangs out with the creeps he hangs out with. You don't see why he's friends with the guy who killed his girlfriend for no good reason. Perhaps the stone cold killer was more sane early on in his life? You don't see or hear any of that. Crispen Glover is also shown to be a little off his rocker, talking about how "exciting" it'll be to have to keep his knowledge of the dead girl's murderer's identity a secret and how loyalty is the reason it will remain secret. It appears that Keanu Reeves and his cohorts are only connected by their love of illegal drugs. Maybe I'm just too picky in my choice of relationships to have any sympathy for a guy who picks such screwed up friends. But then again, maybe the murderer and his loyal friend weren't Keanu Reeve's character's friends? Maybe the fact that Keanu Reeves was into the druggie lifestyle forced them to cross paths and he, like me, was too easy to get along with and therefore Crispen Glover and the murderer just thought they were friends with him b/c "well, we're not enemies..."
I probably could have watched the entire film. But gosh, I was expecting something so much more than this swamp fest.
Friday, October 11, 2013
PALMS - PALMS (2013)
PALMS by the band Palms features the vocalist for Deftones and doesn't star a jagged lineup of smashed guitars. Yet it has almost 5/5 stars on Amazon. Wow. You'd think in a world where mainstream rock listeners are all blaring their mp3 players in a pursuit to show off their lack of wussiness and pop listeners (and most mainstream rock) gets spat on by "indie" music lovers and then mainstream and alternative rock gets weird looks from pop music listeners that you'd see a bunch of posts on Amazon saying "Palms is lame, not what I would expect from Chino" or "Palms are a bunch of wussies" or "Palms isn't real rock, it's just lightweight pop fluff".
It's good to see a bunch of open minded folk, but at the same time, it's kind of creepy...
It's good to see a bunch of open minded folk, but at the same time, it's kind of creepy...
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Monthly Money Mega-ness
I finally bought AMERICAN FOOTBALL on CD, for what I hope is the last time. It's not graced with the most striking cover-art (although it fits the music quite well), and it's not something I Need to have, given how rarely I listen to it and the fact that I have it on mp3, but having CDs seems rather silly without this in my collection...it's one of the best albums ever, and it's not there for all to see. Not like anyone ever comes into the space where I keep my CDs, but, ya know, ***IF*** they did, they'd get an erroneous impression of my musical tastebuds...not that they'd give a damn, but, ya know ****IF**** they did.....uh....
I also bought THE HEART AND THE BROKEN COMPASS on CD, a very good album, I did already buy half the album on mp3 @ Amazon, but, again, if someone were to visit me in my abode.......
I was at Target yesterday and saw they re-issued 1976's CARRIE on DVD and Blu ray with the most kick-asst cover-art! I can't get to Target to buy it, but Amazon has their primary listing of CARRIE for $4.99. The listing doesn't give any indication that I will receive the revamped cover-art DVD, but if I don't, I'll just return it and leave it at that. I now have $8 and some change to spare for what may come for the rest of the month. If I return the DVD, that'll bring it down to $6apprx. As indicated, I don't know if I'll need to do that, but, ya know...
The weather has been miserable since Sept 30th. I've taken at least three showers so far this week, I don't remember if I took one Monday, I know I didn't take one on Sunday, but today yesterday and the day before I was absolutely drenched in sweat and couldn't help but want to take a shower. It hasn't been very hot, but the humidity is relentless.
Last time I went for a walk was Monday. I had a chocolate muffin yesterday and like 5 or 6 slices of "deluxe" pizza from Sam's Club. What is that, 2K calories in one fell swoop? I've consumed 1,600 calories today, maybe 100 less, it's hard to keep track of how many glasses of hot chocolate I drink. It's 6pm where I live, so that's not ***too*** bad. I probably would have done myself a big favor by not having 600 of those calories...
Over the past couple weeks, I've missed apprx 10 hours of sleep. Today I made up for 3 of those hours and I'm still tired. WTTT!?
I also bought THE HEART AND THE BROKEN COMPASS on CD, a very good album, I did already buy half the album on mp3 @ Amazon, but, again, if someone were to visit me in my abode.......
I was at Target yesterday and saw they re-issued 1976's CARRIE on DVD and Blu ray with the most kick-asst cover-art! I can't get to Target to buy it, but Amazon has their primary listing of CARRIE for $4.99. The listing doesn't give any indication that I will receive the revamped cover-art DVD, but if I don't, I'll just return it and leave it at that. I now have $8 and some change to spare for what may come for the rest of the month. If I return the DVD, that'll bring it down to $6apprx. As indicated, I don't know if I'll need to do that, but, ya know...
The weather has been miserable since Sept 30th. I've taken at least three showers so far this week, I don't remember if I took one Monday, I know I didn't take one on Sunday, but today yesterday and the day before I was absolutely drenched in sweat and couldn't help but want to take a shower. It hasn't been very hot, but the humidity is relentless.
Last time I went for a walk was Monday. I had a chocolate muffin yesterday and like 5 or 6 slices of "deluxe" pizza from Sam's Club. What is that, 2K calories in one fell swoop? I've consumed 1,600 calories today, maybe 100 less, it's hard to keep track of how many glasses of hot chocolate I drink. It's 6pm where I live, so that's not ***too*** bad. I probably would have done myself a big favor by not having 600 of those calories...
Over the past couple weeks, I've missed apprx 10 hours of sleep. Today I made up for 3 of those hours and I'm still tired. WTTT!?
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Paste and go - DV62si
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006JPDI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=8LLBKRGJ8M9S&coliid=I1NFB4P6K8J9K
I want these speakers. But I can't imagine anything good from coming out of $150 that is meant to enhance the sound of music - music I get bored with so easily. Then onto the next CD. I would get those Sennheiser HD 202 II headphones, but I don't know squat about the quality of my computer's sound card. WOULD it make the music any more enjoyable? It's hard for me to say. Someone said don't bother trying out pop music on an audiophile set up b/c pop sounds good on anything. I have a TV with only one audio jack, meaning one channel, which means one half of the sound comes through. I don't know if most major label recordings put most of the sound in both channels or if my TV just does a good+ job at simulating stereo, but either way, I'm able to hear over half of what I normally hear on Oingo Boingo's SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET: THE BEST OF and aside from some muffling and lack of punch, Genesis' INVISIBLE TOUCH sounds very good too, probably 85% of the stereo recording comes through my "standard" definition oldskool style TV (a hammedown from my gramma). I'm sure there's room for growth given my pathetic listening set-up, but I can live without it. I'll be at the mercy of my sis to keep from being homeless circa 2025 unless the gov't actually does something to keep welfare from running itself dry, and the deficit problem, if not taken care of, will result in countries ceasing to loan us $, and the taxpayers are going to have to deal with it. According to what I've read, electricity and groceries will become almost impossible to afford unless you're in the upper-lower class or higher, and even those in the upper-lower class will still have a difficult time paying their bills. My sis is making a modest sum of $ right now, which will probably grow into a modestly high sum of $, and since the economy is in a rut right now, it looks like she probably won't see very much increase in her salary after she gets her first salary increase demanded by her college graduate status, which is still about a year away. I mean, I could be wrong. If she maintains what she's earning when the economy hits the fan, and she's working in St. Louis instead of Georgia, she might find herself appreciated and needed enough to keep her job. Weather they'll cut her pay is another story, but the cost of living in Georgia is higher anyway, but I don't know what I'm talking about b/c I don't really know the specifics of how everything will pan out. It probably depends on what kind of company my sis is working for. While in Cape Gr., she was working for this recently launched employer-screening assistant, and I don't even know if that company is still around. Last I heard, he was really struggling. This was around 2008 or 2009, before the gov't declared we were no longer in a recession.
I got my $ today. I spent $11 of it all at once, out of $90, $32 of which I owe my sister for, so I could have these shoes I'm currently wearing. I bought two pairs during Payless' BOGO1/2OFF sale. $32 was the cost of a gift card valued at $40 via the great ABCGiftCards.com. Beyond the $40 GC, my mom put in $3.76 or something like that (I never can be sure of the exact amount...). And having never shopped at Payless.com (I used the ship to store option, free!), Payless offered a 20% off coupon, and between the gift card's discounted price & the 20% off, I saved my ass $22, bringing the cost from $56 to $34. Yeah, you were thinking "oh, $22, so what" Sounds a bit different when it takes the price of two pairs of shoes already discounted into a whole 'nother price range doesn't it? FOOAH!
Anyway.
I also owe my mom $11 in groceries, and I owe my bank $2.25 and I owe Amazon $1.44. I do still have $16+ to spend on other stupid stuff. The $11 I already spent was really stupid. I bought a grilled cheese and two chocolate covered rice-crispy treats. I also bought a bottle of Starbucks. If I'd have not gotten the Starbucks and left it at ONE CCRCT, I'd have spent $5 less. The cashier tried explaining I'd have a $0.50 surcharge for buying less than $5, but I didn't know what he was saying b/c I wasn't listening carefully enough. And after I bought a 2nd rice chocolate crispy whatchcallit, to avoid the inability to buy the 1st one, I was then informed of a grilled cheese sandwich. I could have saved myself $5.50, if I'd known that was on the inventory/menu since that would have brought the total to over $5 and circumvented the need to spend $2.50apprx to avoid a stupid $0.50 surcharge. I thought he was saying there was a $0.50 surcharge ON TOP of the $5. Frrr. Of course, by the time I figured that out, I'd already made up my mind. Brrg!!
Ok, happy thoughts...: I still have $16. I plan to send at least $8 of that to my sister on top of the $32 debt paid. that will be used to buy groceries or whatever higher need might come when I'm at her mercy. Hopefully I'll be able to settle into one meal a day. I sure as hell won't be able to be gazing at the pantry whenever I get bored and making myself cream of what or sandwiches at a whim's notice.
I want these speakers. But I can't imagine anything good from coming out of $150 that is meant to enhance the sound of music - music I get bored with so easily. Then onto the next CD. I would get those Sennheiser HD 202 II headphones, but I don't know squat about the quality of my computer's sound card. WOULD it make the music any more enjoyable? It's hard for me to say. Someone said don't bother trying out pop music on an audiophile set up b/c pop sounds good on anything. I have a TV with only one audio jack, meaning one channel, which means one half of the sound comes through. I don't know if most major label recordings put most of the sound in both channels or if my TV just does a good+ job at simulating stereo, but either way, I'm able to hear over half of what I normally hear on Oingo Boingo's SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET: THE BEST OF and aside from some muffling and lack of punch, Genesis' INVISIBLE TOUCH sounds very good too, probably 85% of the stereo recording comes through my "standard" definition oldskool style TV (a hammedown from my gramma). I'm sure there's room for growth given my pathetic listening set-up, but I can live without it. I'll be at the mercy of my sis to keep from being homeless circa 2025 unless the gov't actually does something to keep welfare from running itself dry, and the deficit problem, if not taken care of, will result in countries ceasing to loan us $, and the taxpayers are going to have to deal with it. According to what I've read, electricity and groceries will become almost impossible to afford unless you're in the upper-lower class or higher, and even those in the upper-lower class will still have a difficult time paying their bills. My sis is making a modest sum of $ right now, which will probably grow into a modestly high sum of $, and since the economy is in a rut right now, it looks like she probably won't see very much increase in her salary after she gets her first salary increase demanded by her college graduate status, which is still about a year away. I mean, I could be wrong. If she maintains what she's earning when the economy hits the fan, and she's working in St. Louis instead of Georgia, she might find herself appreciated and needed enough to keep her job. Weather they'll cut her pay is another story, but the cost of living in Georgia is higher anyway, but I don't know what I'm talking about b/c I don't really know the specifics of how everything will pan out. It probably depends on what kind of company my sis is working for. While in Cape Gr., she was working for this recently launched employer-screening assistant, and I don't even know if that company is still around. Last I heard, he was really struggling. This was around 2008 or 2009, before the gov't declared we were no longer in a recession.
I got my $ today. I spent $11 of it all at once, out of $90, $32 of which I owe my sister for, so I could have these shoes I'm currently wearing. I bought two pairs during Payless' BOGO1/2OFF sale. $32 was the cost of a gift card valued at $40 via the great ABCGiftCards.com. Beyond the $40 GC, my mom put in $3.76 or something like that (I never can be sure of the exact amount...). And having never shopped at Payless.com (I used the ship to store option, free!), Payless offered a 20% off coupon, and between the gift card's discounted price & the 20% off, I saved my ass $22, bringing the cost from $56 to $34. Yeah, you were thinking "oh, $22, so what" Sounds a bit different when it takes the price of two pairs of shoes already discounted into a whole 'nother price range doesn't it? FOOAH!
Anyway.
I also owe my mom $11 in groceries, and I owe my bank $2.25 and I owe Amazon $1.44. I do still have $16+ to spend on other stupid stuff. The $11 I already spent was really stupid. I bought a grilled cheese and two chocolate covered rice-crispy treats. I also bought a bottle of Starbucks. If I'd have not gotten the Starbucks and left it at ONE CCRCT, I'd have spent $5 less. The cashier tried explaining I'd have a $0.50 surcharge for buying less than $5, but I didn't know what he was saying b/c I wasn't listening carefully enough. And after I bought a 2nd rice chocolate crispy whatchcallit, to avoid the inability to buy the 1st one, I was then informed of a grilled cheese sandwich. I could have saved myself $5.50, if I'd known that was on the inventory/menu since that would have brought the total to over $5 and circumvented the need to spend $2.50apprx to avoid a stupid $0.50 surcharge. I thought he was saying there was a $0.50 surcharge ON TOP of the $5. Frrr. Of course, by the time I figured that out, I'd already made up my mind. Brrg!!
Ok, happy thoughts...: I still have $16. I plan to send at least $8 of that to my sister on top of the $32 debt paid. that will be used to buy groceries or whatever higher need might come when I'm at her mercy. Hopefully I'll be able to settle into one meal a day. I sure as hell won't be able to be gazing at the pantry whenever I get bored and making myself cream of what or sandwiches at a whim's notice.
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